Ellis and Fraction's stuff is what's closer to the movies.
It's not what's closer to what made Tony Stark Iron Man.
But if the movies are the tops for you, read them.
I couldn't read Fraction after he ignored the entire comics continuity of Stark so blatantly.
In the Vietnam War if not sooner, Stark pulled the company out of munitions (weapons)
and steered it in other directions.
This became a major plot point down the years.
When SHIELD began buying up Stark International stock, it was to get a controlling interest
and force the company to make weapons. Stark out-maneuvered them and convinced them
it was a lost cause and to release the bulk of the stock back onto the market.
When Stane turned Stark International into STANE International, one of the quickest changes-
besides the signs- was getting back into weapons production. It's amazing how many
writers never noticed Stark was out of that from the 1960s onward.
(One issue of Marvel UK's Supersoldiers had mistake after mistake on both USAgent
and munitions, complete with him brandishing a Stark rifle- and USAgent HATES guns
since his parents were shot and he killed their killers. Since that was just after the Stane
era, he could have owned a STANE rifle that was made back then.)
In the days of Stark Enterprises, Stark was working hard to make detection systems
for the military. "You don't know how hard it is to get contracts for the military when
you don't make weapons."
When Stark became Secretary of Defense, he was a hands-on administrator who intervened
directly so he wouldn't have to release new Starktech weapons into army hands and HOPE
they were handled properly.
Then the movie did the opposite and had him a current-and persistent- weapons manufacturer.
Furthermore,
the REPULSORS are completely misunderstood.
In the original armors, it was magnetism set to repel-to REPULSE.
Later, it was described as "beams of concentrated energy that bombard and repel
anything it strikes." (The last fight of the War of the SuperVillans.)
Later still, it was described as particle beams that can slice through things without any
reference to REPELLING. Ok, makes sense, the name is archaic, but it's the primary
weapons system, an energy discharge from the units in the gloves.
In the movies, it was referred to as "repulsor tech" (basically, StarkTech was called that,
even when it wasn't using any repulsors like the Jericho micro-missiles did.)
And then Fraction carried that over.
It's unlikely he ever READ the older comics, and just ran with what was in the movies.
Don't think I didn't catch him ripping off the Wild Cards series with adding the
"Detroit Steel" armor, whether or not Mike Tsakos was wearing it.
As a long, LONGTIME Iron Man fan, I can like the movies for what they are-
then resent retconning the comics series and rewriting the history so it was like the movies.
If you want some of the truly great Iron Man stories, look for anything written by
David Michelinie and drawn by Bob Layton.
On the other hand, "Hypervelocity" was a LOT of fun in a completely different direction,
and I'd recommend that with no qualifications. Ok, one qualification- those who don't
like cutting-edge tech will not appreciate the story. (Adam Warren did that one.)
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